


In Loving Memory of a Hundred Nights

by SilentWaves



Series: Waves' Dr. STONE Week 2020 [1]
Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Day 1 - Time and Space, Dr. STONE Week, Dr. STONE Week 2020, Family Member Death, Gen, Grief/Mourning, compliant with canon death, might occasionally get kinda ooc but senku's mourning he's allowed to lose his composure a bit, that's all the major character death is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:27:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24956080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentWaves/pseuds/SilentWaves
Summary: Senku is reminded of his father as he stares at the newly-completed rocket. Regardless of how much time has passed or how much space separates them, Senku would never forget the most kind-hearted man to have ever entered his life.
Relationships: Ishigami Byakuya & Ishigami Senkuu, Ishigami Senkuu & Ogawa Yuzuriha & Ooki Taiju
Series: Waves' Dr. STONE Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1806610
Comments: 4
Kudos: 76
Collections: Dr. Stone Week 2020





	In Loving Memory of a Hundred Nights

**Author's Note:**

> I made this decently manga-spoiler-free, and any references that slipped by are pretty vague or straight-up made up for the sake of story. 
> 
> Anyways the series didn’t give Senku any time to mourn, so I guess I have to do it myself.

Senku takes a deep breath. This was it. This was the moment when he would be launched many hundreds of kilometers outside of Earth’s atmosphere, in a rocket made from his own blueprints. He would be accompanied by two trustworthy friends and he would have a kingdom’s worth of support behind him.

So nobody says anything once Senku starts crying.

They think it’s out of happiness. His lifelong dream, right in front of him. Years — thousands of them — of desire and unrelenting aspiration, and then working to the bone to rebuild society, all culminating to this moment.

The launch. Senku couldn’t be more excited, really, but with Minami’s photography and his friends’ raving over the finally completed project, he couldn’t help but be reminded of a press conference.

When was the last time he saw his dad?

In person, it was the dawn of the launch. Byakuya had to wake up early, but a few hours of sleep for Senku was nothing compared to seeing his father finally going to space. He remembers laughter, and giddy excitement, and an unrelenting joy at the prospect of Byakuya’s soon-to-be-arrival in every scientist’s dream land: uncharted territory and the vast unknown of space.

The last time Senku saw Byakuya’s face was later that day, during the launch livestream. They were doing interviews, and the last time Senku saw his father’s face was while he was talking about his boundless love for his son. 

The last time Senku heard Byakuya’s voice was from the tape, thousands of years later. Senku, admittedly, has gone back to listen to the recording sometimes, when the ‘error’ part of ‘trial and error’ was outweighing the results. 

His voice was home. More so than the science that Senku adores, and more so than the rocket that’s standing tall and ready in front of him.

Senku suddenly had an irresistible urge to grab the recording and bring it with them to space. He sits down on the ground to avoid doing it — the last thing they needed was a weak leader at this time, and Senku couldn’t afford to lose face now.

He continues crying. He doesn’t know why (it’s very dehydrating, and Senku should really stop unless he wants to run out of water on the ship), and he doesn’t want for his memory of his first voyage to be plagued by ghosts of the past and puffy eyes.

But that’s not it, isn’t it?

Senku knows that Byakuya was the best dad that he could have asked for. Who else would unconditionally support their child’s passion at such a young age? Would Senku even have gotten this far in his science studies had Byakuya not provided the fuel that would power Senku’s passion?

Would humanity have even survived had that happened? Sure, there were the scientific geniuses across the world, but what state would Japan be in if Senku had never been interested in science? Would he wander around until he got eaten by lions? Would Tsukasa have been revived first and created his ideal world by smashing everyone, but dying alone because the depetrification formula would have never been concocted? 

Those were what-ifs, Senku knows, and that if they haven’t already happened yet, well, Senku wasn’t about to invent a time machine to change that.

What he does know is that Byakuya saved Senku from a life bouncing through foster homes, and that Byakuya gave him a better life then he could have ever imagined.

But he still wonders.

What would Byakuya look like now? What kind of awestruck, loving expression would Byakuya take on, seeing his son accomplish what he’s worked so hard for his whole life. What would he say? What would he do? Would he want to go with them? Would he want to stay behind? As Senku wipes away his tears, finding that his eyes just produce more to make up for the difference, he ponders these unknowns.

There were a lot of unknowns in space too. What dangers would they face? Would Senku be able to hold up to the sudden G-force in space? There was no way to practice the real thing, though Senku’s gotten fairly good at swimming after all the lessons that he’s gotten recently. 

But still. What would the view from space be like?

Maybe there really were aliens out there. Byakuya had joked around about them when Senku was young, saying that there were men on the moon, or rabbits that made up the shadows, and the such, but he also said so many scientifically unrealistic things that Senku could only laugh good-heartedly at his dad’s stories.

There were a few that stuck with him (well, all of them, really, and he finally realizes how Ruri and the priestesses of the past found the passion for the difficult labour that is rote memorization), and Senku could probably recite those old children’s tales word-for-word.

The one that he’s been thinking of the most was the tale of stardust. The story that Byakuya likely made up on the spot after he realized how badly Senku was treating his friends.

_You know, Senku, for every good deed that you do for someone else, stardust is released into the sky. If there’s enough of it, then a new star is born. So if you keep being mean to your friends, you’re going to run out of stars someday._

Obviously, it was ridiculous, and numerically impossible for one person out of 7 billion to make that much of a difference even if it were true. Besides, even when Senku was young, he could still realize just how _good_ Byakuya was, and figured that Byakuya’s kindness would be enough to make up the difference.

But Senku had become a better person after that. First, it was because he would feel a twinge of guilt every time Byakuya would take him outside to stargaze on a rare night when the smog had cleared up just enough to do so. He decided to be nicer to others because he wanted Byakuya to see as many stars as he could when he finally launched into space. Later, he continued being nice to his friends because he realizes the importance of having people who he cares about and who cares for him in return. But that realization would have never happened if Byakuya hadn’t told him that ridiculous tale.

There were more stories that Senku wanted to remember, to reminisce on, but there was a pressing mission at hand. Who knows when the petrification light would strike again, and there really wouldn’t be any point in going to space if they were just going to be stone statues the whole time.

Yes, there was a real, pressing concern right now, and Senku couldn’t jeopardize the mission by allowing his emotions to overcome his logic. 

But as Yuzuriha comes up and gives Senku a warm hug, muttering about how _Byakuya would be so proud of you_ and Taiju enveloping them both, with his tears dripping onto Senku’s forehead, accompanying Yuzuriha’s statement with a _and don’t you worry, Senku, there’s no way he would miss this moment. If there’s a way, he’d do it._

And Senku breaks down again. 

He’s vaguely aware of the Kingdom of Science giving them some space, realizing that Senku’s tears may not entirely be out of excitement, but also out of grief. Their leader didn’t ever show any emotion beyond the occasional heartfelt smile, so if Senku was crying, then they’d leave him be.

Yuzuriha and Taiju didn’t let go of Senku while he sobbed, full of emotion and _vulnerable_ , possibly for the first time since he was a toddler. He lets them hug him, because for the first time in his life, human warmth was comforting instead of invasive. 

He would miss them when he was in space. 

But after an uncountable amount of seconds, Senku finds that his tears stop coming. He relaxes, rubbing his eyes even though he knows that it’ll make him look even worse off than he probably already does. It doesn’t matter much though, because allowing his emotions to escape his body for the first time in thousands of years have left room for hope to fill the gaps.

Byakuya was gone.

This wasn’t a reality that Senku wanted to accept. Maybe somewhere deep down, however unrealistic, Senku hoped that whatever new statue they dug up would have those eyes filled with mirth, or the hair that he styles his own after. 

He shakes his head. The small action makes him dizzy, and Yuzuriha passes him a glass cup of cold drinking water.

As he takes gentle sips from the cup, alternating with deep breaths, Senku wonders if Byakuya is doing well.

He would find happiness anywhere, really. Byakuya was just that kind of person. A ray of sunshine after a storm, a moment of calm on a lake, the cheer of a crowd after a performance. It’s impossible for him to find anywhere where he wouldn’t make the most of his experience there. Senku allows himself a small smile at this thought. Byakuya’s love reached Senku through millenia, and they would last for many more. 

Senku might not ever get over his death. But he thinks that Byakuya wouldn’t be happy seeing his son in pain. He’d want Senku to whole-heartedly pursue his dreams, using the village and time and effort that Byakuya left behind just for him, along with the rest of humanity. 

He would want Senku to treat Byakuya as a pleasant memory, and one that lasts as long as his consciousness did through the years, and maybe even longer than that. 

And Senku did. Senku can remember every single memory he’s had with Byakuya, both in the recent and the distant, _distant_ past. He’ll remember Byakuya’s laugh, overbrimming with joy so contagious it effortlessly spread to everyone around him. He’ll remember Byakuya’s voice, so full of confidence for himself and for others. And most importantly, Senku will certainly remember’s Byakuya’s love, because how could he ever forget it?

He exhales, and stands up. The world spins for a bit, and Senku has to wonder just how long he was sitting there for. But regardless, he was ready.

He’s not going to move on. But he won’t cry because of Byakuya anymore. Senku’s going to show his dad, wherever he is, his success. The survival of Ishigami Village. The long-lasting 100 tales. The treasures. The recording. The innovation. The science.

Senku’s going to take everything Byakuya left for him, and use them as a way to show Byakuya just how right he was in trusting Senku with the fate of humanity. 

In loving memory of the best father he could ever ask for, Senku would rebuild the world from scratch so that when they meet again, in some afterlife or in the void emptiness of death, he’d be able to proudly look Byakuya in the eye and hear how _proud_ he is of the Kingdom of Science’s accomplishments. 

And later, when they’ve safely launched into space and Senku gazes out of the porthole, he wonders just how many stars Byakuya was responsible for creating.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this opens up Dr STONE Week 2020 nicely for the content that I’ll be posting over the next few days, since it was a) good characterization practice for Senku, and b) something a little more heavy and profound before we get to the light, fluffy stuff, and c) BEST DAD BYAKUYA (I’m re-reading the manga right now and ugHHH how did Inagaki write such an emotional family relationship I—)
> 
> Anyways, hmu on [Tumblr](https://voicelesswaves.tumblr.com/) to keep up with the stuff that I'm doing or just to chat! I should have something prepared for every day of Dr STONE Week and I'm very happy to be celebrating such a wonderful series with y'all!!


End file.
